In Brooklyn? Stop By The Brewery

A few weeks ago, we celebrated the birthday of a fellow Food Dude. For Damion’s “bash” we decided amongst the three of us to take part in some type of food/drink tour. Lately we have all been obsessed with beer from the Brooklyn Brewery, namely the Brooklyn Brown Ale. We checked their website and saw that they give free tours on the weekends. We made a stop in Brooklyn just to pay the Brooklyn Brewery a visit.

When we arrived in the vicinity of the brewery, the air told us we were close with the sweet smell of freshly brewed beer. We came upon the brewery and what a cool old factory, with exposed brick and all. We walk in and notice the huge vats where the brewing takes place. Like I said, neat looking place.

Immediately, we went to the counter to buy tokens. The brewery is packed, all the time. Having a system to buy tokens and just present them we you step up to the bar is a faster way to get people their brew. $20 for six tokens is a decent deal if you’re with a small group of people. We jumped on that and we each had two beers.

I won’t give much of a review since I only sampled two of the many brews. I will say that I did enjoy Brooklyn Brewery’s Summer Ale. They also offer a 10% alcohol Dark Chocolate Stout that I thought had a nice mocha/coffee aftertaste. Just to let you know, the Dark Chocolate Stout will cost you two tokens rather than the usual one.

Be sure to try the Summer Ale (it actually sold out while we were there, followed by a simultaneous groan of the crowd after the announcement), or stick with the basics and taste the Brooklyn Lager or the Brown Ale.

The tour itself was just average. But the reason for that is the brewery is undergoing an expansion and the other rooms are a mess. We were taken back into one of the rooms and we heard all about the beer making process and some of the company history. The history was interesting and funny. I won’t give away too much but some stories involve a new company with oblivious owners dealing with the mafia and another laugher about a forklift theft.

I was most impressed by something I hadn’t seen very much at any bar or brewery for that matter. You can order pizza or Chinese food and have it delivered right to your table in the brewery. Many people brought food in or were paid a visit by the pizza man. Some were having birthday parties right there. I’m not sure about you but I would be thrilled to do something like that on my birthday. Maybe I’m just a simple man.

Brooklyn Brewery can be found on Facebook or online at http://www.brooklynbrewery.com for information on tours, events, and beer. They are also on Twitter @BrooklynBrewery.

My advice, go there to hang with your friends. I would gladly go back anytime I’m in the neighborhood. The overall feel of the brewery; it was loud, it smelled good, the neighborhood was very trendy, and there were lots of friendly people. I am hoping to go back for another tour when they finish their expansion.

Look for Brooklyn Brewery’s beer at your local liquor store. For all my Fairfield County people, it is available around here.